Bryce Point Capital LLC Buys New Holdings in CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME)

Bryce Point Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 2,346 shares of the financial services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $545,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in CME. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 570.6% during the fourth quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the period. Dunhill Financial LLC boosted its stake in CME Group by 188.4% in the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 124 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC grew its holdings in CME Group by 50.0% in the 4th quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Financial Life Planners bought a new position in CME Group during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Knuff & Co LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on CME. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of CME Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Citigroup downgraded shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $255.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on CME Group from $235.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays upped their target price on CME Group from $257.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on CME Group from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, CME Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $241.53.

CME Group Stock Performance

CME Group stock opened at $262.54 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $251.50 and a 200-day moving average of $236.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.02. CME Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $190.70 and a 1 year high of $267.91. The company has a market capitalization of $94.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.15, a P/E/G ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 0.53.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.46 by $0.06. CME Group had a net margin of 57.52% and a return on equity of 13.62%. On average, equities research analysts predict that CME Group Inc. will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $1.25 dividend. This is a boost from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.90%. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.71%.

CME Group declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, December 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the financial services provider to reacquire up to 3.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at CME Group

In other CME Group news, COO Suzanne Sprague sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.83, for a total transaction of $385,245.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 8,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,063,885.88. This represents a 15.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Julie Winkler sold 11,592 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.17, for a total value of $2,888,378.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 21,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,453,085.45. This trade represents a 34.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 27,076 shares of company stock worth $6,871,496 over the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

CME Group Company Profile

CME Group Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates contract markets for the trading of futures and options on futures contracts worldwide. It offers futures and options products based on interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, agricultural commodities, energy, and metals, as well as fixed income and foreign currency trading services.